Albanian Mayor Erion Veliaj's Lawyers Meet Him, Prepare ECHR Application

International defence lawyers led by Benjamin Brandon and Albanian attorney Plarent Ndreca met with Erion Veliaj, the elected mayor of Tirana, inside the Durrës pre‑trial detention facility. The meeting, lasting five hours, was the first such encounter after eight months of repeated requests denied by Albanian authorities and followed a later statement that after fourteen months of refusals the officials finally allowed access.

The legal team announced that they are drafting an application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to contest Veliaj's continued detention, which has now exceeded eighteen months. They called on Albanian courts to expedite decisions that would permit his release, enable him to resume his family life and fulfill his mayoral duties, and highlighted ongoing collaboration with a U.S. legal studio in preparing the case.